Page 40 of Crew
"We'll take care of it," I added. "Don't worry."
"And apologize to Heather."
I threw him a dark look. That was inevitable. "I know."
His eyes narrowed, then he rolled them, shaking his head. "You drive me insane sometimes."
I grunted. The feeling was mutual. "What else do you want, Channing? You could've yelled at me over the phone."
His eyes widened. "What? You mean you would've answered it? You would've given me the time of day suddenly? Versus all the other days when you ignore that I'm even a part of your life?" He shook his head. "Trust me, I would've preferred to call and not hitch a ride with some guy I don't know. I could have stayed back and tried to help Heather clean up your mess."
I threw my head back. "It wasn't my mess! Stop blaming me for everything that happens in your life!"
His eyes narrowed again, and a confused look flashed across his face. He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Look. Just... I'm going to stay at Heather's tonight. Maybe instead of you guys doing the cleanup, I'll have my guys do it. You can owe me."
The place needed to be fixed immediately. Heather needed Manny's to be operating, so I understood what he was thinking. It'd take forever if Heather relied on us to fix it.
But owing my brother? I already hated owing him what I did: a place to stay, sometimes food, and any signature a guardian had to give for a minor. And now this? I didn't want more on that list, but fucking hell.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and hung my head. "Yeah. Whatever. Just let me know what I owe you."
"Dinners."
I lifted my head. "What?"
"Dinners. Every night."
Fuuuck. "You work sometimes."
"You show up wherever I'm at. If I'm at home, dinner there. If I'm at the bar, we can eat in the back or in my office. If I'm at Heather's, go there. Seven every night."
"Come on." My lips thinned. I glanced at the guys.
He caught my gaze. "Bring your friends. I don't give a shit. You're my sister. I get you for another year before you take off, and after that, I've got a feeling you'd rather I never see you again. So dinners. I get that from you now. That's what you owe me."
This wasn't a debt I could pawn off on Alex.
I gritted my teeth, but there were other emotions mixed with my frustration. They all swirled together inside, and like every day over the last ten years, I just let them be. It would cost too much to try and unwind them all and face them.
"Fine."
He nodded, patting me on the shoulder. "I'm not going to kid myself. I know you're not coming home tonight, so I'll see you tomorrow at seven. We'll have tacos."
Tacos. Lovely.
But it was. My stomach growled at the idea, and I remembered I hadn't eaten since my burger for lunch. I'd only finished half before bailing out on Heather too.
"Okay. Tomorrow." He stepped around me, patting me on the arm before calling, "Hey, new guy!" He lifted a hand to Race as he headed back to the group. "I need a ride back. You brought me here; you take me back."
"What?" Race glanced around. "I wasn't planning on going back..."
He trailed off as the guys started laughing.
I started after my brother and could see his head shaking, his shoulders rolled back. This wasn't my brother being a pain in my ass. He'd used his cocky voice, the one he used whenever he was around his crew. That brother was charismatic, a leader, authoritative. I saw what everyone else saw. Channing had such a powerful influence on everyone in Roussou. He had started the entire system, but he did more than that. He protected our town too. I didn't know the extent of it, because he didn't let me know, but I knew shady shit went down in and around Roussou. And I knew it was his group that handled that all. He was revered, with good reason, but he wasn't anyone else's big brother. No one else was his sister. He walked away from me, and it was as if he shed his "big brother" skin. He needed a ride home. He wasn't making any of us take him, for whatever reason. His target was Race, and whether the new guy knew it or not, he was going to do what my brother wanted.
Even I felt a trace of sympathy for the guy.
He had no idea that what Channing said went. Channing ruled. It was as simple as that.
